


Pathways

by thomasjeffersonsmacaroni



Series: The Other 51 [39]
Category: Town of Salem (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-05
Updated: 2017-05-05
Packaged: 2018-10-28 12:18:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10831122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thomasjeffersonsmacaroni/pseuds/thomasjeffersonsmacaroni
Summary: Four people could come to the Vigilante's house that night. But do they?





	Pathways

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm in a ToS FB group, and someone mentioned that it would be a nice touch if Escort/Jailor could prevent vig from suiciding after killing a townie. I thought that was pretty cool, so here you go! :)

The Town Protective was dead. And so was the Random Town. And there was someone claiming Veteran, so with the Vigilante as the Town Killing, that filled up the Any.

Then why was that young boy in the corner over there claiming Doctor with an incredibly convenient self heal?

Exactly.

So in the darkness of the night, the Vigilante sped through the shadows up to the boy's house and opened the window to his room. Without a word's hesitation, his very first bullet sped through the air and found its home in between his eyes.

_Shitty claim. The town should thank me._

The next morning, he was revealed as the Any Doctor. And although there were grumbles of "idiot" and "perfectly reasonable claim," the death of the Doctor helped confirm the supposed Veteran as evil.

The Vigilante was the only one who abstained on his death. His head was filled with thoughts about mistakes and mortality and fragility, and every breath felt to him like an effort not to shatter into a million pieces.

That night, he went into his house, crawled into bed, and fell into a fitful sleep. In the middle of the night, he was awoken by...

 

**Pathway #1 - Jailor**

...the slamming open of the door to his bedroom.

The Vigilante stumbled woozily out of his bed and wrapped his blanket tightly around him.

"I'm the Jailor," the figure in the doorway said. "Come with me."

Neither of them had anything to say. But the Jailor threw the Vigilante into a cell and peered inside through the bars on the window.

"Role?"

"Just execute me, please," the Vigilante sighed.

"If you don't give me your role, I'll - wait, did you say _execute_ me?"

"Yeah. I did."

The Jailor twirled a lock of hair around her finger. "Just give me a role. Or I'm keeping you alive."

_"Just leave me alone!"_

_"GIVE ME A ROLE, GODDAMNIT! MAKE MY LIFE EASIER!"_

"Fine! Jester! Are you happy?"

The door swung open, and the Jailor stepped in, gray eyes concerned behind her mask. "Hey, are you okay? I just..."

"No," the Vigilante admitted. "No, I'm not."

"What's wrong?"

"I'm the Vigilante. I shot the Doctor."

"Oh." The Jailor winced. "Yeah, that was a bad move."

"Fuck off. I know that without you."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude."

"It's fine. I...I just feel like a bad person. And I don't deserve to be alive. I just don't want to have to handle this anymore."

The Jailor took the Vigilante's hand with both of hers. "You're not a bad person. Want to know how I know that?"

"How?"

"You're feeling bad about it. Serial Killers, Arsonists, Werewolves, the mafia...they don't feel bad. And you are. Right?"

The Vigilante was silent. Tears closed up his throat so badly that he couldn't speak.

"You made a mistake. These games are _full_ of mistakes. Mistakes don't make you bad at all. Okay?"

"Okay."

The Jailor patted the Vigilante on the back and stood up. "Don't do it. If you need someone to talk to, I'm right here. All right?"

"Okay."

"Good night."

"Good night. Thank you."

And the Vigilante meant it.

 

**Pathway #2 - Mafioso**

...the creaking open of his window.

The Vigilante, not daring to move, slid up to it and opened one eye. Behind it was a person holding a gun and fumbling with the locks.

_Oh._

The Vigilante closed his eyes. At least this Mafioso would make it easy for him. Soon, he would be free. Soon, he would be punished. Soon, justice would be served.

Nothing happened. The Vigilante counted to ten, and still, there was no sound but the Mafioso's fumbling, no sensation but a strange sort of fear.

And then, the Mafioso fell through the window and onto the bed.

At this point, the Vigilante was fully awake, and he sprang up, yelling and cursing, and forced the man off of him. Then, he sat in his bed, not doing anything, and looked at the Mafioso, who was now sitting on the floor and looking incredibly confused.

Both men were silent. And then, the Vigilante prompted him.

"Well? Are you going to do it or not?"

"Do what? I'm just...the Investigator. Coming to check you."

"...you have a gun in your hand. If you're going to kill me, just do it already."

"Fine. You got me."

The Mafioso held the gun up and pointed it at the Vigilante's head. Then, he stopped.

"Wait. Why aren't you calling for help? I'm coming to _kill_ you."

"Isn't that good?"

"Not really. It makes me worry. Are you all right?"

"No. Just kill me already. Do your thing."

"Dude. What happened?"

The Vigilante flopped onto his bed. "I shot the Doctor. And I deserve to be punished. So can you just hurry up and do it?"

The Mafioso sat next to him and wrapped an arm around his head before speaking.

"Did you know that I was forced into the mafia?"

"No, I didn't."

"Well, I was. The Godfather said that he'd kill my family if I didn't comply. And when I killed my first person - I'm pretty sure it was a Medium - I felt just like you are right now. And you want to know how I survived?"

"How?"

"One step at a time. Every morning, I would tell myself, 'Okay, I'm going to stay alive for thirty seconds.' It didn't matter what I did during those thirty seconds. I could read, or sleep, or finish my sandwich, or even sit in the corner of a room and cry. And then, after those thirty seconds passed, I would say, 'Okay, just another thirty seconds.' And I would keep going. Just like that. So that's what you have to do. Keep on going. One step at a time. Can you do that?"

The Vigilante nodded meekly. "Thirty seconds doesn't seem too bad."

The Mafioso counted under his breath, and in the meantime, the Vigilante crawled back under his covers and closed his eyes.

"...twenty-nine Mississippi, thirty Mississippi. Okay. You've done it. One step at a time."

The Vigilante smiled softly. "I guess I did."

The Mafioso patted his head as he picked up his gun and moved to leave again. "I'll kill someone else."

 

**Pathway #3 - Escort**

...a persistent knocking on his door.

The Vigilante put a bathrobe on over his pajamas and opened the door to see a beautiful woman in a bright red dress.

"Would you like to have a fun time?" she asked him.

"No, not really. Thank you for offering, though."

She pouted. "Well, that's rude. No one's been able to resist me."

"I'm just tired. And I don't really want to do anything right now. No offense to you. Maybe tomorrow."

But there wouldn't be a tomorrow. He wasn't about to tell her that, though.

"Can I come in, at least? I'm lonely."

"Yeah, sure. Keep in mind that I'll be sleeping. You can...I don't know, sleep on the couch or something."

He would need to go somewhere else to do it. He didn't want to force that pain on her.

"Fine. I guess I'll do that. Hey, are you all right? You look worried."

"I'm fine. Once again, I'm just tired. If you need anything, wake me up. Good night."

"Hey, Number Eight?"

"Yeah?"

"What's your role?"

The Vigilante looked over at the Escort and sighed. "Why do you need to know?"

"Just a hunch. What is it?"

"Vigilante. I shot the Doctor." He figured that he might as well admit it.

"Oh? _Oh._ "

A look of understanding dawned on the Escort's face, and she nodded understandingly and moved towards him.

"I'm not any good at this 'comfort' thing. But I _can_ tell you something. It's going to be okay. It may not seem like it now, and it may not seem like it tomorrow, or the day after, but it's going to be okay. _You're_ going to be okay."

"I don't know."

But the Escort's words were comforting. She patted him on the shoulder and smiled gently.

"Give yourself a break. Want to play a board game with me? To keep you distracted?"

"Sure."

The Escort led him to his game room, where she pulled out Monopoly with a smirk on her face.

"Get ready to get destroyed."

And the Vigilante was happy.

 

**Pathway #4 - Investigator**

...the sound of rustling beneath his window.

The Vigilante wrapped a blanket around him and stepped outside his window, gun in his hand just in case. It still shook there, as if it didn't belong, but if there was some kind of an intruder, he would need it.

There was a man with a cape and a magnifying glass peering at the bricks of his house, muttering and writing down notes in his notebook. Instantly, the Vigilante recognized him as the Investigator.

"Save yourself the trouble," he called to him. "I'm the Vigilante. I shot the Doctor."

"You _do_ own weapons," the Investigator confirmed, looking up.

"Yep. So we're good. Go back home. Good night."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Good night."

"You don't _look_ fine."

"Well, I am. Good night."

"Listen."

The Investigator stood up and went to him.

"I know you feel like you made a mistake. I know because I've seen this all the time. And I also know that you feel like a shitty person who doesn't deserve anything good. Am I right so far?"

The Vigilante nodded reluctantly.

"But I also know that it's a perfectly reasonable mistake to make. That claim _was_ shit. And the thing is, it's not the end of the world. People die all the time in these games. You need to learn to forgive yourself."

"But I _can't._ I killed an innocent. Only evils do that."

"You killed an innocent on accident. And they didn't. _That's_ what differentiates you from them. So forgive yourself. Or at least try to. All right?"

"I'll try."

"I can't investigate anyone else tonight," the Investigator said finally. "Want to go to your house so I can help you?"

"Sure. I'll make a late-night snack or something."

"Sounds great."

 

**Pathway #5 - Solitude**

...his thoughts. Nothing more.

No one came to the Vigilante's house that night. No one was there to talk him down, to tell him that it would be okay, to comfort him and hug him and give him the relief he so needed.

No one convinced him against taking the gun from his top shelf. No one convinced him to not put it inside his mouth, to not lie down on his bed, to not breathe deep to keep himself from shaking.

And nothing, _nothing,_ could stop the bullet from piercing him through the head.

**Author's Note:**

> Which pathway is the real ending? That's entirely up to you!


End file.
